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My wife and I are planning to take a November, 2007 Princess cruise from Bangkok to Beijing. Any ideas as to whether we should book air on our own or take Princess Air?
If we book on our own, can anyone tell us about getting a transfer in Bangkok from the airport to the hotel and on the other end in Beijing from the hotel to the airport?
Terry and Judy

We booked our air through Princess as they were flying United and it's the only carrier my DH uses (if possible). WE flew from SF to Narita then onto Bangkok. Coming home we came directly from Beijing to SF. Unfortuantely, we upgraded to Business, so our fare of $10,000 is not what most people would be looking at. I think it was something like $3000 PP, but I could be wrong. Still, it was worth every penny to have the extra leg room on the 17-hour flight there and back(12 hours).

Getting a transfer from the airport to the hotel (and vice versa), should be as easy as picking up a taxi outside the airport Make sure you agree on a price before leaving the curb as they tend to 'float' if you don't. The hotel will be glad to arrange something for you to get back to the airport. The hotel in Bangkok might be willing to do the same if you contact them directly and ask. We took the transfers simply because we are lazy and don't like to think too much about arrangements once we start the vacation.

As a frequent business traveler to Asia, I deal with the cost of air about every 4 months.

The best prices I have found are generally on NW airlines. There are also numerous "ethnic" travel agencies located in large cities. They generally have consolidator fares. Look in the paper of a large city (San Francisco, Los Angeles, NYC) or do a google search.

You will usually be far better off buying a cheapie ticket to Los Angeles or San Francisco to connect with an Asian flight and a separate ticket to the Orient. Trying to buy a ticket from, lets say, Columbus, Ohio, to Beijing on one ticket is usually prohibitively expensive. It is also often cheaper to buy a RT (say Bangkok in your case) and fly from Beijing to Bangkok on a separate ticket.

There are a lot of Asia discount carriers. Air Asia is probably one of the largest, although they don't fly to China. But they do fly to Hong Kong. Zuji (owned by Travelocity) specializes in the Orient. http://www.zuji.com/web/content/splash_index.html

As a frequent business traveler to Asia, I deal with the cost of air about every 4 months.

The best prices I have found are generally on NW airlines. There are also numerous "ethnic" travel agencies located in large cities. They generally have consolidator fares. Look in the paper of a large city (San Francisco, Los Angeles, NYC) or do a google search.

You will usually be far better off buying a cheapie ticket to Los Angeles or San Francisco to connect with an Asian flight and a separate ticket to the Orient. Trying to buy a ticket from, lets say, Columbus, Ohio, to Beijing on one ticket is usually prohibitively expensive. It is also often cheaper to buy a RT (say Bangkok in your case) and fly from Beijing to Bangkok on a separate ticket.

There are a lot of Asia discount carriers. Air Asia is probably one of the largest, although they don't fly to China. But they do fly to Hong Kong. Zuji (owned by Travelocity) specializes in the Orient. http://www.zuji.com/web/content/splash_index.html

Thanks for the information. If you are flying to Bangkok from Beijing, do you need a visa for China for that purpose?
Terry

Thanks for the information. If you are flying to Bangkok from Beijing, do you need a visa for China for that purpose?
Terry

Yes, but you will need a visa for your cruise when you arrive in China anyhow. No separate visa needed to depart China.

One other helpful hint-try to avoid flying intra-Asia on either Friday night or Sunday night. The Orient (especially the Chinese) has taken the notion of business traveler to new heights. Not only are the planes PACKED (standing room only), but the prices skyrocket.